Volkswagen Passat vs Volvo S60

What's the difference?

I so enjoyed driving the Volkswagen Passat 206TSI R-Line. It's a roomy wagon that should fit a lot of different types of families. It still has sporty performance that will entice even the most reluctant family car buyer, so don't be turned off by its large proportions! I really like the comfort, convenience and handling of this one, so it gets an easy 8.0/10 from me.

My kid thought the blue colour was cool and loved having so many things to play with in the back seat. His only complaint was about the heavier doors but he still managed. He gives it an 8.0/10, too.

The new-generation Volvo S60 is a really likeable car. It follows the brand’s recent form in offering impressive, luxurious and comfortable models that also happen to offer extensive equipment and strong safety levels. 

It is somewhat hamstrung by an ownership plan that can’t match its rivals on cost, but buyers could consider that they’re getting more car for their initial money, anyway.

The Passat is a large car and stands at 4708mm long, 1832mm wide and 1504mm high. The boxier rear and long nose make these proportions feel even larger.

The 2023 model doesn't see much change, if any, to the previous iteration. The exterior features the classic VW sharp pleat that runs the length of the body, slim-line LED lights and pronounce grille with lots of chrome accents found throughout.

It looks shiny, new and stylish, but not garish. You'd be proud to be seen in this.

The interior is also classically VW – sharp, a little pared back and hosting easy to see buttons and dials. The adjustable ambient lighting elevates the cabin space, as does the black headliner (R-Line exclusive).

An interesting feature is the directional air vents, the slatted design is carried the entire length of the dash which accentuates the width of the car. It all looks seamless and well thought out.

Svelte and Swedish it may be, but this is also one sexy looking sedan. The R-Design model is particularly attractive, as it gets a muscly body kit and bigger 19-inch wheels.

All models have LED lighting across the range, and the ‘Thor’s Hammer’ theme Volvo has been sticking with over the past few years works a treat here, too.

At the back there’s a really tidy backside, with a look that you could confuse for the bigger S90… apart from the badge, of course. It’s one of the best looking cars in the segment, and that largely comes down to the fact that it appears more resolved and luxurious looking than its rivals.

It carries its size well - the new model is 4761mm long on a 2872mm wheelbase, it’s 1431mm tall and 1850mm wide. That means its 133mm longer (96mm between the wheels), 53mm lower but 15mm narrower than the last model - and it’s built on the brand’s new Scalable Product Architecture - which is the same underpinnings from the range-topping XC90 to the entry-grade XC40.

The interior design is what you’d expect if you’ve seen any new Volvo from the past three or four years. Take a look at the interior pictures below.

A very practical family wagon with all passengers enjoying ample head and legroom.

The amenities in both rows are very good. The seats are fairly comfortable but the lumbar support isn't awesome. The massage function on the driver's side is a nice novelty but not strong enough to be called a massage. Think of it as gently stretching.

For storage, you get a decently sized middle console, dedicated phone tray, cooled glove box, drink bottle holders in each door and two cupholders.

There are plenty of charging options available for the front with two USB-C ports and a 12-volt socket. Bonus having the wireless Apple CarPlay (and Android Auto), as it's one less cable you have to worry about.

In general, I like how easy the tech is to use. The 9.2-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks great and is responsive.

It's easy to get all the connections going and you can pull the built-in satellite navigation directions through to the 10.25-inch digital instrument panel. I did miss having a head-up display this week but the info on the instrument panel is displayed clearly.

The back seat gets a couple of cupholders in the fold-down armrest and drink bottle holders in each door. It also has directional air vents with climate control, reading lights and one USB-C port for charging. However, I would have liked to have seen another charging port, to limit sibling squabbles.

There are ISOFIX child seat mounts on the outboard seats plus three top tether anchor points.

The backseat is wide enough to fit three child seats side by side if needed, and there's plenty of room for front passengers when a 0-4 rearward facing child seat is installed.

The windows are wide and offer good visibility but I really like the 142mm ground clearance. It was super easy for my six-year old to climb in and out.

The only thing he mentioned he didn't like was how heavy the doors were to operate. I don't mind this because they feel solid but they do swing wide, so be wary of letting any wild kids just hop out themselves in a crowded car park. You may get (or inflict) some dings.

The boot is a great size at 650L, with all seats in use, but if you pop down the backseats, that jumps up to 1780L.

The back seat also split-folds 40/20/40, which opens up your storage options. I enjoyed using the powered tailgate with kick function, it's handy on the grocery run.

Volvo’s current design language is common from the XC40 through to the XC90, and the ’60 Series’ range also gets the same premium treatment.

The cabin is lovely to look at, and the materials used are all beautiful - from the leather on the steering wheel and seats, to the wood and metallic elements used on the dashboard and centre console. I still love the knurled finishes used on the engine starter and controls, even a few years after this look debuted.

The media screen is familiar too - a 9.0-inch tablet-style vertical display - and it does take a little learning to figure out how the menus work (you have to swipe side-to-side for detailed side menus, and there’s a home button down the bottom, just like a real tablet). I find it perfectly usable, but I do think the fact the ventilation controls - air con, fan speed, temperature, air direction, seat heating/cooling, steering wheel heating - all being through the screen is a little annoying. I guess a small saving grace is the de-mister buttons are exactly that - buttons.

There is a volume knob with a play/pause trigger as well, which is great. And there are controls on the steering wheel as well.

The storage in the cabin is okay, with cup holders between the seats, a covered centre bin, bottle holders in all four doors, and a rear flip-down armrest with cupholders. Now if you’re reading this review you must have a thing for sedans. That’s cool, I won’t hold it against you, but the V60 wagon is clearly the more practical pick. Even so, the S60 has a 442-litre boot space, and you can fold the rear seats down for extra room if you need it. The opening is a decent size, but there is a slight intrusion at the top edge of the boot that can limit the size of things that’ll fit as you slide them in - our bulky pram, for instance.

And keep in mind, if you choose the T8 hybrid, the boot size is a little compromised by battery packaging, with 390 litres.

The S60 sedan range is attractively priced, with entry level variants undercutting some of the big name competitors. 

The starting point is the S60 T5 Momentum, which is priced at $54,990 plus on-road costs. It has 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights, a 9.0-inch multimedia touchscreen supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as well as DAB+ digital radio, keyless entry, auto dimming rear vision mirror, auto dimming and auto folding wing-mirrors, dual-zone climate control and real leather trim on the seats and steering wheel. 

The next model up the range is the T5 Inscription, which lists at $60,990. It adds plenty of additional gear, with 19-inch alloy wheels, directional LED headlights, four-zone climate control, a head-up display, a 360-degree parking camera, auto-parking assist, wood interior highlights, ambient lighting, heated front seats with cushion extensions, and a 230-volt power outlet in the rear console.

Stepping up to the T5 R-Design gets you more grunt (info in the engine section below), and there are two options available - the T5 petrol ($64,990) or the T8 plug-in hybrid ($85,990).

Extra equipment for R-Design variants includes ‘Polestar optimisation’ (a bespoke suspension tune from Volvo’s performance division), 19-inch alloys with a unique look, a sporty exterior and interior design pack with R-Design sports leather seats, paddle-shifters on the steering wheel, and mesh metal interior finishes.

There are some packs available, including the Lifestyle Pack (with panoramic sunroof, rear window blind and a 14-speaker Harman Kardon stereo), the Premium Pack (panoramic sunroof, rear blind and a 15-speaker Bowers and Wilkins stereo), and the Luxury Pack R-Design (nappa leather trim, blonde head-lining, power adjustable side bolsters, front massage seats, heated rear seat, heated steering wheel).

The R-Line has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol powertrain with a maximum output of 206kW/350Nm.

That puts its engine specs 44kW up on the Elegance model and you feel that difference when you put your foot down.

The six-speed auto transmission provides surprisingly smooth shifting in most settings. The grunty engine combined with the all-wheel drive creates a sporty and purposeful driving experience.

All of the Volvo S60 models use petrol as part of their propulsion method - there is no diesel version this time around - but there are a few details when it comes to the petrol engines used in the range.

The T5 engine is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo motor. But there are two states of tune offered here. 

The Momentum and Inscription get the lower state of tune - with 187kW of power (at 5500pm) and 350Nm of torque (1800-4800rpm) - and it uses an eight-speed automatic with permanent all-wheel drive (AWD). This powertrain’s claimed 0-100km/h sprint time is 6.4 seconds.

The R-Design model takes a higher tune of T5 engine - with 192kW of power (at 5700rpm) and 400Nm of torque (1800-4800rpm). Still eight-speed auto, still AWD, and a little quicker - 0-100km/h in 6.3sec. 

At the top of the range there’s the T8 plug-in hybrid drivetrain, which also uses a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine (246kW/430Nm) and pairs it to an electric motor with 65kW/240Nm. The combined outputs for this hybrid drivetrain equate to a phenomenal 311kW and 680Nm, and that makes its 0-100km/h time of 4.3sec all the more believable. 

And then there’s the fuel consumption…

That powerful engine does cost you a little bit with efficiency. The official combined fuel figure is 8.1L/100km and real-world testing saw my figure at 8.6L.

Not too bad for the type of driving I did this week, which was a combo of open-road and urban. I wasn't scared of putting my foot down but I would expect to see a double-digit figure in an urban setting.

This has a 66L fuel tank and based on the official combined figure, you should be able to get around 815km driving range, which is great.

The official combined fuel consumption of the S60 varies depending on the powertrain.

The T5 models - Momentum, Inscription and R-Design - all use a claimed 7.3 litres per 100 kilometres, which on the surface appears a little high for a vehicle in this segment.

But there’s a great evener in the T8 R-Design, which uses a claimed 2.0L/100km - now, that’s because it has an electric motor that can allow you to drive without petrol for up to 50 kilometres.

The performance of this is to be commended. Powerful but poised, there's a sense of performance in reserve when you put your foot down and while still fun, it's not unbridled power.

It inspires confidence, the lower centre of gravity and firm steering meaning you tackle corners with minimum roll. You can accelerate out of a corner a little earlier than you might normally in this.

The cabin is nice and quiet with some road noise at higher speeds but not enough to intrude on chatting.

Despite suspension that feels sporty, aka stiff, the ride comfort is very good, with back seat passengers also feeling the comfort. There's not a lot of jostling in this.

Let's talk parking. It is a large car but you don't feel those dimensions when you park it.

It's very forgiving to manoeuvre with the front and rear parking sensors, crisp 360-degree view camera and tight 11.7m turning circle!

And if you're not confident it has a self-parking feature.

The Volvo S60 is a really nice car to drive. 

That might seem a little lacking in terms of descriptive wording, but ‘really nice’ sums it up so well. 

We mainly spent our time in the sporty T5 R-Design, which is impressively quick when you engage Polestar mode, but never leaves you feeling like you’re at the ragged edge. In normal driving, with Normal mode engaged, the engine response is more measured, yet still sprightly. 

You can feel the difference between the R-Design version with the T5 engine and the non R-Design models, which run a 5kW/50Nm deficit. Those models offer better than adequate grunt, and you might find you don’t really need the extra punch.

The R-Design’s engine is smooth and revs freely, and the transmission is a smart thing, too, shifting almost imperceptibly and never really setting a foot wrong in terms of gear selection. The S60’s all-wheel drive system allows easy progress and plenty of traction, while the R-Design’s 19-inch wheels with Continental tyres offer heaps of grip. 

The steering isn’t as engaging as in some other luxury mid-size models - it’s not quite as much a point-and-shoot weapon as a BMW 3 Series, for instance - but the steering wheel is easy to turn at low speeds, offers decent response at higher speeds, though it’s not overly engaging if you’re an enthusiastic driver.

And the ride is mostly quite comfortable, though sharp edges at lower speeds can upset things - that comes down to the 19-inch wheels. The T5 R-Design model we drove is fitted with Volvo’s Four-C (four corner) adaptive suspension, and in Normal mode there was slightly less stiffness over patchy sections of road, while the Polestar Mode made things a little more aggressive. The other models in the range have non-adaptive suspension. The S60 T8 R-Design we drove at launch was a little less comfortable, feeling a bit more easily upset by bumpy sections of road - it is considerably heavier, and it also misses out on the adaptive suspension.

The cornering stability from the suspension is impressive, with very little body roll through faster corners, but just be mindful that a Momentum - which has 17-inch wheels - could be a better pick if you often drive on rougher roads with varied surfaces.

Volvo is synonymous with safety, so there’s no surprise that the S60 (and V60) scored the maximum five star Euro NCAP crash test rating when tested in 2018. They haven’t been put through the ANCAP ringer yet, but a maximum five-star score is a given.

Standard safety equipment for all S60 models includes auto emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, rear AEB, lane keeping assist with lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring with steering assist, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, and a reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors (plus 360-degree surround view standard on all but Momentum grades).

There are six airbags (dual front, front side, full-length curtain), plus there are dual ISOFIX child seat anchor points and three top-tether restraints, too.

The Passat comes with a market standard five-year/unlimited km warranty, and roadside assistance is included for one year (through Allianz Insurance) if you get your car serviced at a VW centre.

There is a three- or five-year capped price servicing plan that can be pre-purchased and will save you money compared to the pay-as-you go option. Servicing averages $620 though, which is expensive for the class.

Servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 16,500km – whichever occurs first.

Volvo covers its models with the equivalent of the ‘standard’ level of cover in the luxury segment - three years/unlimited kilometres. It will also back its cars with the same cover for roadside assist for the duration of the new car warranty. That doesn't move the game on.

Servicing is due every 12 months or 15,000km, and customers can now purchase a three-year/45,000km inclusive service plan for about $1600 - which is considerably more affordable than the previous service plans. Volvo has made this change based on the feedback of customers and reviewers (and because the other brands in the market offered more aggressive plans), so that's a plus.